The Benefits of Undergoing Laparoscopic Robotic Prostatectomy

If your prostate cancer is caught early then it becomes necessary to treat once and for all. Medically, it has been confirmed that early stage cancer of the prostate can be treated especially by the removal of the prostate gland. The ready option to effectively do this is by applying the radical prostatectomy. This is a traditional surgical method of treating localized prostate cancer cells. However, there are lots of issues with radical prostatectomy and this is because of the side effects. These side effects include: Urinary incontinence, sexual dysfunction, pains, blood loss and long recovery time.

You don’t have to undergo all these side effects if the only option you have to treat your localized prostate cancer is through surgical procedure. You can opt for laparoscopic Robotic Prostatectomy. This is another surgical procedure for treating localized prostate cancer but with less invasive surgical technique. This procedure is also known a robot – Assisted prostatectomy or Robotic Surgery. Here are highlights of the benefits you will enjoy when going for this type of surgery to treat localized prostate cancer.

• When carrying out Laparoscopic Robotic Prostatectomy, there is minimal incision. This means that you are to experience minimal loss of blood, minimal use of the catheter and fast recovery.
• This type of surgery ensures you experience reduced risks of urinary incontinence. In the more traditional approach, nearby tissues could be damaged because of the incisions but in the Laparoscopic Robotic Prostatectomy, these inconveniences are minimized.
• In addition, this robotic surgery brings about less risk of sexual dysfunction. This is based on the fact that the surgeon has clear view of the structure or anatomy of the body, and is less likely to make damage cells responsible for sexual functions during the procedure.
• Other benefits of undergoing Laparoscopic Robotic Prostatectomy include less scarring on the body, less pain, and better precision in carrying out the surgical process.  For sure, there is nothing you would want more than this.

The advantages that laparoscopic surgery has over the more invasive approach cannot be overemphasized. The above benefits highlight the chief benefits you should expect. So, you may want to opt for Laparoscopic Robotic Prostatectomy so as to undergo a less invasive surgical approach when treating localized prostate cancer. For more details on this procedure, talk to your doctor or Board Certified Surgeon and Urologist.  They can tell if you are really a candidate for this type of surgery.

 

Localized Prostate Cancer Treatment – Robot Assisted Surgery Better Than Open Surgery

 Radical prostatectomy is the surgical procedure applied to get rid of prostate gland affected by cancer. This is often carried out when the cancer is still localized ( that is, still within the confines of  the prostate cells). The surgical procedure is of two types: one is the open radical prostatectomy (ORP) and the Robot-Assisted Radical Prostatectomy (RARP).The former is much more invasive than the latter.

A recent study published in the European Urology journal has revealed that the applications of Robot-Assisted Prostate cancer surgery are much more successful than the open radical prostatectomy. The reason is that it provides men with better outcomes and fewer complications. The following extract throws more light into this publication:

Robot-assisted surgery is now both more common and far more successful than radical “open” surgery to treat prostate cancer in the United States, according to a new Henry Ford Hospital study published in the current issue of the medical journal European Urology. The research, led by scientists at Henry Ford Hospital’s Vattikuti Urology Institute (VUI), is the first to compare in a nationwide population sample the results of robot-assisted radical prostatectomy (RARP) to the standard surgical procedure, open radical prostatectomy (ORP).

The researchers found, based n a representative 20 percent sample of the U.S. that:

• 19,278 patients underwent RARP or ORP in 647 medical institutions between October 2008 and December 2009. • Of those, 11,889 underwent RARP and 7,389 underwent ORP. • More RARPs were performed at teaching institutions in urban locations, and a higher proportion of RARPs were performed at high-volume hospitals. • RARP patients were less likely than ORP patients to need a blood transfusion, less likely to have a prolonged hospital stay, and less like to suffer complications during or after surgery, including cardiac, respiratory, and vascular problems.

ORP involves opening the lower abdomen with a long incision, and removing the entire diseased prostate gland and some surrounding tissue in the hope of preventing the cancer from spreading to other parts of the body.

A similar procedure, known as RARP, is done through tiny incisions using minimally invasive laparoscopic surgery. Henry Ford Hospital pioneered the use of robots to assist surgeons in this delicate procedure, and the new study confirms earlier Henry Ford findings that RARP is now the most common technique in the United States for treating localized prostate cancer.

Prostate cancer is the most common “solid organ” malignancy and the second leading cause of cancer death in U.S. men. Radical prostatectomy became the standard treatment after it was shown that the surgery resulted in higher survival rates than “watchful waiting.”

But in the past 10 years, “we’ve seen a significant trend toward the use of minimally invasive approaches to RP for the treatment of prostate cancer, particularly in the U.S.,” says Quoc-Dien Trinh, M.D., a fellow at VUI and lead author of the study.

“While this evolution has been controversial, there have been few comparative studies. Most of those looked only at single institutions or single surgeons, and they were of poor evidentiary quality.”

Most significantly, the new study found “superior” results with RARP in virtually every outcome studied, including the amount of necessary blood transfusions, complications during and after surgery, and length of hospital stay.

At Henry Ford, which did much of the original work on robotic surgery for prostate cancer, 98 percent of patients go home within 24 hours of the operation and major complications are less than 2 percent, according to Mani Menon, M.D., director of Henry Ford’s Vattikuti Urology Institute.

In selecting the study’s subjects, researchers relied on the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) maintained by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Read the full article here.

Conclusively, since it has been confirmed by studies( the above inclusive) that prostate cancer can be effectively treated with the Robot- Assisted approach when compared to invasive surgery, it is quite important that you consider your option now. If surgery is mandatory for you, talk to your doctor about your realistic expectations. It is also important that you are aware of the side effects of this treatment. The truth is that even with robot assisted radical prostatectomy; everyone may not be the right candidate for the procedure. So, consult in details with your doctor to ensure you can undergo this treatment for early detected cancer of the prostate.

Prostate Laser Surgery – Benign Prostate Hypertrophy

Benign prostatic hypertrophy or BPH is a medical condition that causes obstructive urinary symptoms in most men, especially in their old age as they pass 70 and approach 80. The symptoms of the disorder include reduced urine flow, increased frequency and urgency, dribbling, hesitancy, incontinence, and excess urination at night. There are instances in fact in which the disease affects men younger than 40, although that isn’t too common.

Also called prostate enlargement, one of the best known treatments for the condition is the transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP), in a surgical instrument called the endoscope or cytoscope is inserted in order to cut away the excess tissue. However, due to the limitations of that procedure, and to technological advancements that are meant to make everything that much easier, other techniques have been found to improve on the TURP. 

Prostate laser surgery is a minimally invasive therapy that is used these days for the treatment of BPH. Just like with the TURP procedure, in this operation a portion of the prostate is removed; however this time it is done by the aid of a specialized laser. With this surgery, the man being treated is afforded better urinary retention than previously; and he may undergo the procedure in the event of medical therapy failure, a recurrent infection, and renal insufficiency.

Incidentally, prostate laser surgery may be employed also for the treatment of various other conditions that generally affect the male urinary and reproductive systems, such as bladder stones, and prostatic bleeding. During the procedure, an anesthetic is given to the patient to help him relax for the length of the operation. The cystoscope is then inserted along with a specialized laser fiber in order to remove the portion of the prostate blocking the bladder’s drainage. Because of the loss of continence that result from the trauma to the region, a catheter is left in the bladder just long enough for the man to regain control of his bladder fluids – the catheter is usually removed the next day.

Some of the important advantages of prostate laser surgery, especially over TURP include the aforementioned minimal invasiveness of the surgery in dealing with bladder outlet obstruction, and a shortened recovery period, which most men can appreciate if they have to get back to work in a hurry. Certainly, because of the improved precision of the process, the patient also experiences lower blood loss than if he had to undergo the conventional prostate surgery. There are side effects still, though, and they include some initial discomfort with voiding after the procedure; however, this fades within days. Some patients also take longer to recover their bladder control, but again, that fades. And with fewer scars, the man certainly has a lot to be thankful for

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